recommendations from instructor

[robone]

when you had your formal firearm instruction, what type of automatic pistol was recommended by the instructor? caliber?high capacity?concealability? realiability?coolness factor?

[rifleer1]

Only thing I was ever recommended was something I was comfortable with carrying and firing.

I'm sure they would've balked at anything under a .380 though.

[lockedcj7]

In the military, we didn't have a choice. In A.I.T. we shot M9s, when I arrived at my permanent party unit, it was a S&W .38 spl. (Some know-it-all is going to try to tell me that the Army never issued .38s) Before long we traded them in and got M9s too.

After the Army, the CWP instructor I had emphasized that whatever it is, you must be extremely comfortable with it, be able to handle it safely and be able to hit with it. I think he may have mentioned something about 9mm and .38 being a widely accepted minimum but students were allowed to qualify with .22lr.

In my state, you aren't required to qualify with the gun you're going to carry.

[RoscoeC]

I have been exposed to two totaly different philosophies. One says that you will run out of time long before you run out of ammo. The other says that you cannot have too much capacity.

The first instructor was from a tough street law enforcement background.
The second was from a tough military background.

Both have validity depending on the circumstances. The military guy puts you through drills that clearly demonstrate that having high round count can be very important. Most of the single stack gun guys can't finish the course. They spend much of their time reloading.

The other guy puts you through drills that clearly demonstrate that decisive quick action will save your life, and under most self defense situations a high round count won't be that important.

The military guy says that round count and shot placement is far more important than caliber.

The cop says he has never heard anyone say after a gunfight, "Gee I wish I had a smaller gun".

Two different philosophies. As a result, I carry a Glock 19 with a spare 15 round magazine. That gives me 31 rounds to put down range. I can still follow the cops philosophy, fast and accurate, and the military guys as well, plenty of rounds to put down range.

I hope to take another pistol course this summer. Maybe I will learn some more techniques. There are all kinds of ways to skin a cat.

[FM12]

RoscoeC: Enjoyed your post, very informative and enjoyed the two points of view. FM12

[slow944]

Roscoe where do you shoot?? I usually go up to the Bullet Trap in Plano. Do you shoot IDPA out at Winchester Gun club? I'm kinda interested in trying that. Maybe I'll see you at the range......Jerry

[fattsgalore]

The safety instructor suggested that Taurus wasn't a quality firearm.(jerk) But he pushed either S&W and Hk it just happened that the range had a plethora of said make and models. I wonder????

[Ocraknife]

My instructor liked anything that made you feel confident. He personally carried Glocks and a S&W 44 mag with a short barrel. I think he used .44 specials in it if I remember correctly just in case he had to prove that he didn't use excessive force in court. He said prosecutors loved the word "magnum".